“We were able to recycle about 77 percent (of the trash), so a lot of scrap metal, tires, and dirty plastic,” Seigley said.

This was the 14th year for Project AWARE, which stands for A Watershed Awareness River Expedition. Some of the trash pulled from the lower Des Moines River — between Eldon and Farmington — included an old motorcycle, a dumpster, a fiberglass boat, and the frame of a car.

“I would say the most unusual items removed were about 8 to 10 bathtubs,” Seigley said. “When the first few came out, we were surprised to see them and then we found a few more along the way.” The expedition covered 52 miles, July 11-15, through Wapello, Davis, Van Buren and Lee counties. The 329 volunteers included one man who came all the way from Sweden.

“And then we had a number of volunteers from other states that joined us…Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, and several others,” Seigley said. A total of 115 volunteers participated all five days of the event.